1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an article pickup and cleaning system and in particular to a system for picking up dislodged citrus fruit on the ground.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices for picking up substantially round articles such as fruit, nuts, golf balls and other articles that are dispersed on the ground are well known. Such devices are often configured as rotating drum type assemblies having elements extending radially outward that engage and retain the articles and lift them from the ground. Such devices have proven to be generally satisfactory for picking up many types of articles over smooth ground. When the articles have a consistent size, the pickup configuration can be optimized to match the particular size of the articles. However, greater difficulty is encountered and performance is decreased when items are picked up that vary in size and the ground is uneven. The pickup system must be able to accommodate items in a range of sizes so that a higher percentage is picked up. In addition, once the articles are lifted from the ground, they must be separated from the pickup device. Where the items have a consistent size, this is relatively straight forward. However, when items vary in size, picking up, then separating articles from the collector without damaging the articles is challenging. Problems may occur with jamming or with articles being separated but not collected as some items fall back to the ground.
Examples of prior art pickup devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,025,620; 5,168,692; 1,859,980; 2,482,355; 3,888,370; 1,035,613; 1,104,431; 1,439,266, 3,746,099; 1,136,249; 1,191,814; 1,277,715; 4,066,179; 3,993,141 and 2,778,184. Although such pickup devices generally are satisfactory for picking up and collecting articles, such devices do not have a wide swath and do not work well over uneven terrain with ridges, bumps, ruts, holes, swales and other irregularities.
Once articles have been collected from the ground, it is advantageous to remove debris material from the desired crop early in the collection and transport process. Removal of debris such as twigs and leaves at an early stage of collection has several advantages. By removing debris, jamming and wear on the equipment are reduced as the equipment is typically not designed for transporting leaves, twigs and other unwanted material. The cost of handling this debris is reduced and the capacity is increased if the debris is removed prior to being transported by other equipment. Moreover, automated removal of the debris at an early stage reduces the equipment needed to clean the crop at a later stage in processing. In some cases, manual inspection is required, so that early automated removal of leaves and other debris may reduce labor costs associated with inspecting and removal of unwanted materials at a processing plant.
Although blowers and other devices for removing twigs, rocks, leaves and other debris improve the overall quality of the harvested crop, still further improvements are possible. Prior art cleaning systems have typically been complicated and expensive and require substantial reconfiguration of the harvesting equipment to accommodate the cleaning system. Such cleaning systems may also be subject to jamming and struggle to separate and remove unwanted debris while allowing continuous transport of the harvested crop.
It can be seen then that a new and improved system for collecting and removing debris from articles on the ground such as an agricultural crop is needed. Such a system should provide a wide swath that directs articles to a collection system. Such a system should efficiently function over uneven terrain and collect a high percentage of the fallen crop. Such a system should also pick up a high percentage of the crop with a single pass without jamming. Moreover, such a system should provide for automated removal of unwanted materials from the collected crop at an early stage. The present invention addresses these problems, as well as others associated with mechanized agricultural collectors and cleaning systems.